Chapter Text
Sally Jackson watched her son, arms crossed and resting on the warm wood of the cabin railing. A smile rested on her face, gentle as the boy raced crabs on the sand to the ocean. Her fingers tightened when his toes touched the water, stumbling in with waving arms and shrieking laughs. Every time she waited for the waters to wrap around his little body and take him away from her, into the depths where she would never be able to follow.
Her hair tickled her face, her hand moving to take the sunhat off, her eyes dropping from her son, her Percy, as she pulled the rest of her hair back into the bun at the base of her neck. A scream of triumph jerked her head to the side, arms frozen behind her head.
Her baby was throwing his little arms into the air, a wave of water following his fingers. His feet were running in place with excitement, cheers overlapping with the waves and the cries of the gulls.
Her heart stopped.
"Percy!"
Her little boy's arms dropped, turning to look at her with wide, terrified eyes.
"Mama?"
He stood in place, waves hugging his calves as his mother jumped down the few steps to the sand, feet unbalanced as she sprinted to the child. The sudden cold of the water shocked her toes, but there was no hesitation when her knees slammed to the wet sand, arms pulled the boy to her chest, lifting him out of the water and running as fast as she could back to the cabin like the ocean had turned to acid.
A little hand patted her chest, her face turned to the ocean waves attacking the shore like its soul was ripped from its heart. "Mama, what wrong?"
Her eyes never left the water, not even as she pushed open the door, sealing herself and her son away from the force that threatened to take him.
She fought to keep her breathing steady, catching in her throat like globs of honey, as she knelt in front of the couch, setting her son on the cushions. "Baby, look at me," She grabbed his face, fingers shaking against his skin, "Look at me," Her voice was quiet, a terrified whisper leaving her breathless, "You can never," her fingers tightened, just enough to make sure her little boy was listening, "ever do that again. You hear me? You understand?"
Her baby blinked at her, "But mama, the water flew! It went up-"
Tears were beginning to prick her eyes, "Yes, baby, I know, but you can't do that-"
His little brows scrunched, "But why-"
"Because you'll be taken away." Her voice rose back to normal, but it was hard. Final. "Bad people will come, and they will take you away. You will never see me ever again, and I won't be able to see you." The tears fell, "Do you understand, baby? Why momma doesn't want you to do that again?"
His eyes widened as far as they could, showing her the little golden veins running through the white, reminding her that no matter what she thought, said, or did, her baby would never truly belong to her. That he belonged to a far greater and older power. But that would never stop her from keeping the child. She would do whatever it took. Even framing his father and every part of his divinity as bad and evil, if it meant he would stay.
"Bad people?"
She nodded, lips pressed together, "Yes, baby, very bad people. People who will never let you see me again. They will take you under the waves forever."
"But I can't breathe in the ocean!"
Her baby, her Percy, looked so terrified in that moment that she almost felt bad about scaring him. Almost. If he was scared of the ocean, of his father, then nobody would find out about him. Nobody would take him away.
"No, baby, you can't. But they won't care. That is why you can never do what you did out there ever again. They'll find you. And they'll take you."
His bottom lip trembled, fat tears rolling down his face. "Can I still play in the water? I won't play with it, just in-"
His mother scooped him up, settling him on her hip, "No, baby, I'm sorry." Her hand ran through his hair. Silky, just like underwater plants. Just like his fathers. "You can't. They'll know you're there now, and the water will wrap around you and steal you away." A kiss was placed onto his hair, "But don't worry, we'll go home and watch Toy Story, how about that?"
He sniffled, little fist going to rub it away, but all it really did was smear the snot around his face, "Can we watch The Little Mermaid? I love Ari and Tri. He reminds me of Daddy."
Her heart skipped.
"What do you mean, baby? Daddy died, remember? The ocean took him."
"The bad people?" Percy's voice shook, grabbing her sun-warmed hair in a fist.
He was getting it. He was listening.
"Yes, baby. The bad people took Daddy away, and now we can't see him, can we?"
Percy shook his head. He didn't seem to remember what she had asked, her heart and head screaming to know, to stomp whatever it was before it took him away.
"What did you mean by Tri reminding you of Daddy, baby?"
"His hugs, and how he always smiling at Ariel." His voice was so much smaller than usual.
She could fix this.
"Sounds like he reminds you of Mommy then, huh? Cause Mommy is always smiling at you, and she always gives you hugs." She rubbed her nose against his hair, squeezing him and getting a few laughs in return, all the fear seemingly forgotten.
She thought she would have more time, more time to prepare and make a plan.
The one she did have was far too flimsy and restrictive than she would have liked, but now that her baby was showing his divinity, the only option that she had was to stamp it out, whatever it took.